Catholic Fire

May 13, 2016 is the 99th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in the small village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917.  She appeared six times to Lucia, 9, and her cousins Francisco, 8, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. The story of Fatima begins in 1916, when, against the milieu of the First World War, which had introduced Europe to the most horrific and powerful forms of combat ever seen, and a year before the Communist revolution would plunge Russia and later Eastern Europe into six decades of oppression under militant atheistic governments, a resplendent figure appeared to the three children who were in the field tending the family sheep. “I am the Angel of Peace,” said the dazzling figure, who appeared to them two more times that year urging them to accept the sufferings that the Lord allowed them to undergo as an act of reparation for sins and to pray constantly for the conversion of sinners. Then, on the ...

Pope Benedict brings hope to Africa's troubles

Venerable Bede , the evangelist of the British Isles between the seventh and eighth centuries, contributed to the building of Christian Europe. Benedict XVI recalled this, dedicating the General Audience catechesis to the works of this important medieval scholar.His style of doing theology, through weaving together the Bible, liturgy and history, brings a message that still has value today. To scholars, Bede reminds that the Word of God should be presented in an attractive way for the faithful. To pastors, that the priority should be given to preaching and to the use of common language. The religious are asked to collaborate in the work of evangelization. Lay people should learn to pray and form themselves in the gospel and for parents, that the focus of their work should be the Christian education of their children. For his tireless commitment, Bede was compared to a new sun that God raised from the west to illuminate the world. More Information at the Vatican website: VENERABLE BEDE:...

Today is the feast day of my Community -- the feast of St. John, the Apostle and Evangelist. St. John is also my patron saint and the saint I try most to emulate in my daily life. St. John, a fisherman, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of St. James the Great, was called to be an Apostle by our Lord in the first year of His public ministry, and he travelled everywhere with Him. St. John is known as the Beloved Disciple, the Apostle of Love. Why was he identified in this way? John loved Jesus greatly, and he demonstrated a meek, mild, tender, humble, and peaceable disposition that made him very much like Our Lord himself. Also, his singular privilege of chastity, his virginal purity rendered him worthy of this more particular love. As St. Augustine explains, "He was chosen by our Lord, a virgin, and he always remained such. Christ was pleased to choose a virgin for his mother, a virgin for his precursor, and a virgin for his favorite disciple. His church suffers only those who l...

The Holy Father's general prayer intention is: "That those who, because of wars or oppressive regimes, are forced to leave their homes and country may be supported by Christians in the defence and protection of their rights." His missionary prayer intention is: "That, faithful to the sacrament of matrimony, every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of its brothers."

SYDNEY, July 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI's weeklong trip to Sydney Australia for the 2008 World Youth Day ended spectacularly on Sunday with a mass attended by some 400,000 pilgrims at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park, making it the largest gathering in Australian history. Similar numbers of pilgrims, both international and local, attended many of the central events throughout the week. It was estimated that in excess of half a million pilgrims and locals came out to welcome Benedict XVI on Thursday 17 July for his official arrival on boat-a-cade and motorcade at Barangaroo. The final tally reveals that 110,000 international pilgrims, representing 170 countries, converged on Sydney for the global Catholic youth event. Another 113,000 local pilgrims officially took part in WYD08. The record for World Youth Day attendance, however, is still held by the Philippines, where, in 1995, an estimated 4,000,000 people attended the concluding Mass. WYD08 Coordinator...

In Deliberately Insulting the Most Deeply Felt Sensibilities of Other Human Beings , Jimmy Akin responds to a question on his call-in radio show "Catholic Answers Live" about Prof. P. Z. Myers, the Minnesota professor who has threatened to desecrate the Eucharist and post the results on YouTube. He shares an mp3 of the exchange. Diane at Te deum laudamos shares a wonderful post with lots of links and photos on Pope Benedict XVI and Don Bosco's Dream... At Daily Donna-Marie, she shares the amazing Stations of the Cross from World Youth Day through her commentary and a YouTube video. Jay Anderson shares a rewarding experience when he takes a day off from work to see the Vatican Splendors Exhibition at the museum of The Western Reserve Historical Society in his post Yesterday I saw the Vatican Splendors.

From WYD08 : His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has touched down in Sydney following the longest journey in his life on Alitalia flight AZ4000 from Rome, travelling for 19 hours 45 minutes and 16,418 kilometres. This historic visit to Australia is his ninth apostolic visit outside of Italy. Descending from the aircraft, the Pope was greeted on the tarmac by the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, and the Premier of NSW, Morris Iemma amongst other dignitaries. Following the brief greeting, he then travelled by car to the Kenthurst Study Centre, where he will spend time privately until the evening of Wednesday 16 July. MORE From CNA: Pope lands in Australia, prays youth will find rest, joy and desire to evangelize Pilgrims of World Youth Day in Australia 2008 BBC World News has a video entitled "Pope begins Australia tour" here. Fr. Z shares more videos and commentary here. Related Posts: Sydney cathedral unveils statue of Pope Joh...

Pope Benedict XVI smiles before leaving from Fiumicino airport in Rome, as he leaves for World Youth Day in Australia, July 12, 2008. (Max Rossi/Reuters) The World Youth Day, which will be held in Sydney, Australia from July 15 to 20, 2008, has as its theme: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts of the Apostles 1, 8). Related Posts: World Youth Day Links NFP Ready for Condom Peddlers at WYD World Youth Day 2008: Catholic Olympic Torch is Coming Catholic Facebook Launched Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Holy Father's Message for World Youth Day 2008

ROME, JULY 10, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- Benedict XVI is reportedly working on his third encyclical this summer, which could be ready as early as this fall.The Pope's secretary of state confirmed the existence of the document in an interview with the APCOM news agency last May. He even proposed a possible title: "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in the Truth) and said this, the Holy Father's third encyclical, could be ready in the fall. MORE

"Intellectual humility is the primary rule for people seeking to penetrate supernatural truth on the basis of the Holy Books. Where the Word of God is involved, to understand means nothing if understanding does not lead to action." ~ Pope Benedict XVI, in his Wednesday audience on June 4, 2008

Zenit: What the Pope Said to Women in US